Daindreth's Traitor by Elisabeth Wheatley

Author:Elisabeth Wheatley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elisabeth Wheatley
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Amira

For someone who didn’t know what he was doing—with magic, the Cursewood, or the kelpie—even Amira had to admit Thadred was doing well.

They continued for most of the day with Thadred urging the kelpie along the tracks of the Kadra’han. Sometimes they lost the trail and the rangers had to help them find it again, but after the first few hours, the kelpie seemed to figure out what Thadred wanted.

Tapios explained that kelpies were smarter than regular horses, but Amira already believed it after being chased by one through the forest. Thadred rode ahead of them without reins or a bridle. He seemed fine with the situation, but Amira and Daindreth discussed several times what they’d do if the animal suddenly decided to buck Thadred and attack.

“The kelpie won’t harm him,” Tapios said confidently. “He’s tamed it.” The ranger rode beside her and Daindreth, his small brown horse clopping over the obsidian blackbriar roots on the ground. None of the animals could move quickly through the treacherous terrain. Their hooves slid and lost their balance whenever they came in contact with the hardened stones and roots.

Amira looked to Tapios. “You know a lot about kelpies?”

“More than most lowlanders, I imagine,” he answered.

Amira’s eyes narrowed. “Tamed a lot of them, have you?”

“Obviously not.” Tapios shot her a glare, matching the sardonicism in her tone. “But our people have tamed them before.”

“And?” Amira pressed when Tapios didn’t elaborate.

“Tamed kelpies would do anything for their masters,” he said. “They’re the most loyal and trustworthy steeds one could ask for.”

“When’s the last time one was tamed?” Amira asked.

Tapios took a while to respond. He looked in the opposite direction of her, studying the massive oak trees covered in blackbriars around them. “I’m not sure. Generations, at least.”

“I see.” Amira didn’t see. It made no more sense than anything else about this place, but she doubted Tapios understood, either.

Amira looked to Daindreth. The archduke had been silent for some time now, not speaking for the better part of an hour. “Are you alright?”

Daindreth offered her a look that was more a grimace than a smile. “Fine, love.”

Amira bit her lip. “You’re not fine at all.”

Daindreth shook his head. He kept his entire body from the neck down rigid as he did. “I can last until our next rest.”

Amira reached over and touched his forehead. Her hand came away clammy with sweat. “Oh, darling…”

“Nothing we can do about it,” Daindreth said, his voice almost a rasp. “It’s not a fever, just…a little soreness.”

Amira’s first impulse was to call him a liar, but she didn’t want to pick a fight with him right now. He was already tired and in pain, and he was right that there was nothing they could do about it now.

They rode for most of the day. Every so often, Tapios would send scouts to circle around them and make sure that they were still on the trail of the Kadra’han. They were.

Whatever else he might be, Thadred’s new pet was tracking their quarry and doing an excellent job.

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